Iberian Prehistory (Archaeology)

It is a fact that in Europe menhirs, stelae and statues and their origin, configuration, and maintenance in funerary megalithic spaces
play an important role. The wealth and variety of antrompomorphic expressions in the Portuguese Alentejo form an interesting case
study. The documentation of the engraved Anta de Telhal stele-menhir opens a new line of investigation. This is useful to reflect on
the connectivity between open and closed architectures in Southern European megalithism. The movements of stones between them
indicate a longue durée process, of which the manipulation of images on the ancestral stones is one of the clearest arguments for the
creation of the past’s ideology.

El análisis comparativo entre el estudio del Territorio de Explotación Directa (TED) de un conjunto de asentamientos de la Edad del Bronce (motillas de La Moraleja, Cueva Morenilla, Jacidra y Chavillo) del Campo de Montiel con la documentación histórica existente y la Toponimia, nos ha permitido corroborar la estrecha relación de su emplazamiento con el control de vados y vías naturales de comunicación. [The comparative analysis between the study of the Territory of Direct Exploitation (TED) of a set of Bronze Age settlements (Motillas de La Moraleja, Cueva Morenilla, Jacidra and Chavillo) of Campo de Montiel with the existing historical documentation and Toponymy has allowed us to corroborate the close relationship of its location with the control of fords and natural ways of communication]

O núcleo megalítico do Leandro/Taím localiza‑se na freguesia de Silva Escura, concelho da Maia, Distrito do Porto, Portugal. É constituído por 6 mamoas e por diversos sítios que atestam a ocupação humana durante a pré‑história recente. A investigação arqueológica por nós desenvolvida nas mamoas 4 e 5 do Leandro, distanciadas entre si por 300 metros, revelaram dados importantes para a compreensão da arquitectura da morte em contextos megalíticos no Noroeste peninsular. A mamoa 4 do Leandro é um tumuli baixo, com uma câmara de pequena dimensão, construída com vários esteios, sendo a mamoa delimitada por um anel lítico. A mamoa 5 do Leandro, é um tumuli elevado, com corredor curto, diferenciado em planta, e uma câmara funerária sub‑elíptica, provavelmente construída com oito ortostatos, restando apenas três destes, dois laterais e o de cabeceira, onde se encontra representado um motivo soliforme pintado a vermelho.

There is an increasing abundance in the archaeological record in Iberia for the Late Neolithic and the beginning of the Chalcolithic periods, mostly regarding burials. The higher pre-Pyrenean areas began to be settled more frequently, but the poor weather conditions have led researchers to suggest that human presence mostly took the form of sporadic visits. This argument has provoked substantial controversy given the increase not only in the archaeological artefacts recorded but also in the number of burial sites in less accessible places. To shed more light on the knowledge of these Chalcolithic mountain groups, we have carried out strontium isotope analysis of human enamel of individuals from the funerary cave Cueva de los Cristales (Sarsa de Surta, Huesca, España), located 1,300 m above sea level (m a.s.l.). Our results point to a pre-Pyrenean origin of the Chalcolithic groups, despite differences found among the individual values, which may be related to different locations in the pre-Pyrenean area. The added value of the study resides in the large amount of data points (up to 40) of bioavailable strontium values which will be useful for future mobility studies performed in the Pyrenean territory.

Ronda is one of the oldest cities of Spain.
It's origin, according to archaelogical findings in the old city space belongs to the Neolithic age.
Despite of this, the presence of the human being in this land can be explained at a previous time.
A proof of this are the sites found at caves, being the most important the one found at the Pileta's Cave, which is one of the best cave's paintings examples of all the Paleolithic age in Andalusia.

During the recent Prehistory a lot of human settlements are founded. This fact is proofed by the existance and conservation through the time of archaeological rests that can still be admired nowadays, being represented by some of its most relevant and monumental artistic examples, like the megalithic Necropolis: Dolmen of El Chopo and Encinas Borrachas among others.
It will be also at that time when the most important human settlements of the region will be well defined: Acinipo and Ronda, but its rise and important time will arrive later. The time of Acinipo will be at the Roman Empire Age and the Ronda time will be at the Middle Age.
From the Roman conquest time of the Iberian Peninsula still remain at our region a lot of rests, being important the ones found in the same city of Ronda. But, without any kind of doubts, the most important archaeological site of the region is the Roman city of Acinipo, because of its conservation's state and also because of some of its elements belonging to a Classic Roman city, like for example, the Theater.
Once that Acinipo dissapeared, and after the convulsive period which reason is the Fall of the Roman Empire, the attention was paid now to the city of Ronda. That city, although being a small settlement even during the first time of the Middle Age, became since then the main place where all the important historic events happened.
Among these historic events, and because of its importance and its cultural legacy, still alive at the common life (town planning, gastronomy,traditions, farming systems, etc.) has to be considered the Arab Age as the most important.
At that time, Ronda appears to be as one of the leading cities, arriving to the category of main city of one of the Kuras (Provinces) of Al-Andalus (the province of Ronda was named of Takurunna). Ronda even achieved to be independent as an independent Kingdom (called at that age the Taifas Kingdom) after the fall of the Cordoba Kingdom.

The most important character played by Ronda, and the reason for being well known, arrives with the Nazari Kingdom of Granada, because of its closeness to the territories conquered by the Catholics coming from Castilla. That leads to the city of Ronda, as well to its region, to be a very important border zone.
After the conquest of the city by the Catholic Monarchs(1485) deep economic and cultural changes happened, which can be still seen at the structure of the city: Opening of squares not existing before, streets made broader, etc.
The 18th century, and the arrival of the Modern age, will be for Ronda the time when it will get its definitive role inside the land of Andalusia.

At that time, the most relevant and known monuments of the city where built, as signs of the former aristocracy and the present Ronda: The New Bridge and the Bullring.
Since that time and during the 19th century, the romantic image of the city grows, as well as the legend of its Serrania (mountains), generating the world of the bandits and the art of bullfighting a deep impression between lots of important travellers.
Both aspects have been converted since then into symbols of our culture and tradition. Despite of this, the cultural and traditional richness of Ronda is much wider and diverse that the one offered by this image, cliched although being nice. This diversity is the current attraction of Ronda and its Serrania.

Resumen: Pocos territorios en Europa reúnen la concentración de estelas en piedra que se documentan entre el Tajo y el Duero. La arqueología asegura amplias posibilidades extractivas, con un claro centro neurálgico en el actual distrito de Castelo Branco. Desde los primeros descubrimientos de piezas tan singulares como las de São Martinho, hasta el registro actual, la variedad y diacronía de estelas y menhires en piedra resulta excepcional en el contexto ibérico y europeo. La tra-dicional lectura, que alejaba los viejos menhires de las estelas del Bronce Final, queda muy matizada ante el uso de referencias temáticas y técnicas semejantes. En este texto aportamos otro argumento a sumar a esas similitudes, con la reutilización de los antiguos soportes como base material para la generación de las estelas del Bronce Final. Las imágenes humanas que se grabaron en estas memorias en piedra expresan narrativas sociales elaboradas. Las secuencias gráficas que ar-gumentamos aseguran el papel político de estas piezas como justificaciones materiales de pasados ancestrales. Indudablemente albergan relatos orales sobre la relación entre los vie-jos ancestros y los nuevos líderes, justificando el orden del entramado económico asociado al control de la extracción y comercio del metal.

Abstract: Few places in Europe concentrate as many stone stelae as the area between the Tagus and the Douro. Archaeology has shown the ample possibilities for metal mining, the modern region of Castelo Branco being the epicentre in the area. From the first discoveries of such unique objects as the São Martinho stelae to the current record, the variety and diachronicity of stone stelae and menhirs is exceptional on the Iberian and European scales. The traditional interpretation that differentiated between the old menhirs and Late Bronze Age stelae has been nuanced by the evidence of similar themes and techniques. Another argument presented here is the use of the old stones as the basic material to produce the Late Bronze Age stelae. Human images carved on these memorial stones express elaborate social narratives. The graphic sequences described here demonstrate the 'political' role of these stones and material justification of ancestral pasts. They were undoubtedly imbued with oral tales about old ancestors and new leaders, to justify the order of the economic system associated with mining and metal trade.

The ditched enclosure of Borralhos (Serpa): approaching its architecture through geophysics.
Identified through satellite images, the ditched enclosure of Borralhos was submitted to geophysics in 2018. Here, the results of that work are pre-sented. The architectonic design is analysed, interpreted, and integrated in the context of the patterned lobulated ditched enclosures of the Middle Guadiana basin.

This paper seeks to explore the concept of petrification in relation to early sculptural traditions in Iberia. This region is rich in standing stones, decorated stelae and statue-menhirs whose manufacture can be broadly dated to the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. Standing stones in Iberia are variably shaped (they may have phallic form), and some are decorated with abstract, more rarely figurative, imagery. Stelae and statue-menhirs represent human bodies with elements of dress and/or weapons two-dimensionally (on stelae) or in three dimensions (statue-menhirs). Typically, these stones were considered by researchers as stable (‘finished’) monuments that were mostly ‘de-contextualized’, since they were usually non-stratified finds. Focus was placed on their stylistic traits, and they were interpreted as standing for something other than themselves, either a common long-lasting ideology or distinct cultures, group identities, or incoming ideologies.

The concept of petrification is defined in this volume by Hueglin as ‘a process of consolidation and structuring — in nature or culture, in space or time, in matter or mind — which leads to something more permanent, trans-generational or even eternal.’ Gramsch (this volume) suggests that the petrification of architecture could be ‘a deliberately fostered process’ aimed at creating permanence and resilience of a community. Could prehistoric sculptures be part of processes of petrification taking place in late prehistoric Iberia?   

Certainly, these worked stones share some common traits that could be linked to processes of consolidation, such as boundary formation or the crafting of collective identities. They were landscape monuments associated with memory and commemoration (Bronze Age cases include depictions of people with attributes; a few with contextual information are clearly linked to ritual practices), and their findspots are generally found close to transition points in the landscape and valued resources, frequently as part of the fabric of ‘persistent’ places. But when we attend to the materiality and temporality of these stones, a more complex picture emerges.

This paper considers petrification from the point of view of matter and temporality, two issues that seem central to the notion introduced by the editors (Gramsch, this volume). It argues that petrification processes are not only related to materials and their properties (i.e. durability of stone) but also, and mainly, to the relationships in which materials become entangled. It is argued that material properties are emergent rather than inherent and that they come into being through the engagement of matter with other entities (e.g. adobe buildings can endure through maintenance, limestone exteriors of buildings can decay relatively rapidly if affected by ‘stone disease’). From this it follows that stone can be vibrant and fluid and not necessarily stable, and that it is the resilience of its relationships (rather than matter) which could forge processes akin to the concept of petrification. That is, stone may not petrify, and even when it does it needs persistent work to maintain it that way. Therefore, it is here proposed that the examination of processes of petrification needs to pay attention to materials, their relationships, and histories. 

The paper starts by questioning the idea of stone as stable matter and proposes that stone can be a vibrant and dynamic material; this is discussed in connection to recent research on Late Bronze Age stelae. It is suggested that by focusing on individual boulders/slabs and examining them as on-going processes, with particular attention to those intersections by which large stone monuments came into being and were transformed, we can reveal relational properties and connected histories that would otherwise be concealed by current categorizations, such as ‘granite’, ‘slate’, ‘stela’ or ‘statue’.

The paper then adopts a broader perspective to discuss relations and underscore the fluidity and complexity of Iberian prehistoric sculptures. These became entangled in countless relations with different temporalities through multiple engagements. Some relations (e.g. similarity; association with a place) endured or were reproduced, having an effect in the crafting of sculptural traditions or types (i.e. categories) as we know them today — some of these enduring relations could be considered within the concept of petrification as consolidation (e.g. standardization; persistent places). But even enduring relations have complex historicities (Fowler, 2013). A series of case studies are discussed to exemplify how these stones are composed of a variety of overlapping relations, which emphasise their instability and change through time.

During the second half of the 4th and the 3rd millennium BC
there was an increment of the circulation of raw materials and exotic
objects, and large transregional exchange networks were developed
in the context of a growing social complexity. Between the diversified
raw materials and artefacts that fed those networks, ivory and ivory
objects are to be highlighted. They not just provide a higher spatial
amplitude to these networks, but they also assume diversified social
roles in the ideological and exuberant forms of expression of these
communities.
In this paper, an updating of the inventory and cartography of
sites with ivory is presented, together with new data regarding its
chronology and circulation in Portuguese territory during the Recent
Prehistory. Artefact categories are analysed along with their contextual
relations, aiming to evaluate the role of the circulation of ivory in the
increment of exchange networks and of its relevance in the social
dynamics of the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic.